Archive for October, 2012

Theo Wargo, Getty Images – Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose opens up about his rocky past with Slash and Duff McKagan and shares his thoughts on the original lineup reuniting. [ Loudwire ] – Black Sabbath have made enough progress on their new album to announce a 2013 release and book an Australian tour. [ Loudwire ] – Soundgarden have trotted out another new track called ‘Non-State Actor’ ahead of their ‘King Animal’ album release. [ Loudwire ] – Mark Tremonti reveals his plan to keep Wolfgang Van Halen as part of his solo group for the future, and it’s good news for Van Halen fans. [ Loudwire ] – A treasured piece of Nirvana ‘s video history will be part of an upcoming auction. [ Loudwire ] – Metallica ‘s Kirk Hammett reveals one of his favorite guitar solos. [ Ultimate Metallica ] – Veteran metallers 3 Inches of Blood have revealed dates for their headlining West Coast trek. [ Rock Music Report ] – Footage of Led Zeppelin performing the song ‘Kashmir’ from their ‘Celebration Day’ film has surfaced online. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Count Sammy Hagar among those affected by Hurricane Sandy, as his Atlantic City bar was left trashed by the storm. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Congrats to Jack White , who received the James Joyce Award from the University College Dublin. [ Diffuser.fm ]

SoundgardenWorld.com Soundgarden are gearing up for the release of their comeback album ‘King Animal’ on Nov. 13. The band recently shared the first single ‘Been Away Too Long,’ and is now following it up with the debut of another new tune, ‘Non-State Actor.’ Sonically harkening back to the Soundgarden sound of old without getting too caught up in nostalgia, ‘Non-State Actor’ chimes in like an old friend that’s been away for, say, oh, 16 years. Soundgarden fans will feel right at home with ‘Non-State Actor,’ while the song invites in new listeners as well to find out what the band is all about. However, as frontman Chris Cornell pointed out in a recent interview with Yahoo Music , you can’t judge the tone of the album by just two songs. “There’s always a broad spectrum of what’s going on musically on any Soundgarden album,” Cornell explained. “They usually tend to be long, there’s a lot of different feels, you’re never going to get the feel of the album from listening to one or two or even three songs.” He also talked about the band’s constant evolution. “I feel like we’re all very conscious about what we feel is the musical identity of the band,” said Cornell. “That’s always been very important to us but we also have all felt pretty comfortable with each other and pushing the boundaries of what we all think that is too.” Listen to ‘Non-State’ Actor below for a taste of what the band has in store with ‘King Animal.’ Watch the Video For the New Soundgarden Song ‘Non-State Actor’ [button href=”http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/live/soundgarden-song-check-non-state-actor-exclusive-interview-155804275.html” title=” Soundgarden’s ‘King Animal’ Best Buy Edition Bolstered With Bonus Tracks” align=”center”]

Century Media Napalm Death vocalist Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway is one of the most individually outspoken and intelligent musicians in the world of metal. In a clip from our recent interview with Greenway, he addressed the harsh words fired in his direction from Earache Records founder Digby Pearson, launching his own retort against the veteran label owner. Now, we bring you our full conversation with Barney Greenway from Napalm Death’s Oct. 28 show from New London, Conn. During our interview with the booming vocalist, we discuss Napalm Death’s 2012 album, ‘Utilitarian,’ Greenway’s take on modern society, we play an interesting game of ‘Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction?’ + more. Check out our new video interview with Napalm Death’s Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway. Napalm Death’s Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway Talks to Loudwire [button href=”http://loudwire.com/napalm-death-the-wolf-i-feed-top-21st-century-metal-songs/” title=”Napalm Death – Top 21st Century Metal Songs” align=”center”]

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Megadeth ‘s Dave Mustaine is one of the biggest supporters of America’s military out there, so the frontman definitely took it to heart when Lieutenant Colonel Stephen D. Sklenka of the U.S. Marine Corps dedicated an American flag that was flown over Camp Leatherneck in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan in his honor. Mustaine remarked, “Besides getting married and the birth of my two children, I have never been more proud than this moment. To all of our servicemen and servicewomen, I love you all, and THIS American supports our troops!” On his Facebook account , the metal frontman posted photos of the dedication, the letter he received from Sklenka , the flag itself, and what appears to be a gold plated bottle opener that were all presented to him as part of the ceremony. The dedication declaration can be seen below. Another thing Mustaine supports is his right to free speech, which he used this summer to suggest to an audience in Singapore that some of the mass shootings over the summer were “ staged ” to help President Obama pass a gun ban. He’s also argued that Obama was “ born somewhere else than America .” Dave Mustaine recently made it to the quarterfinals of our President of Heavy Metal election , but lost out to Rob Zombie. Facebook: Dave Mustaine [button href=”http://loudwire.com/megadeth-dave-mustaine-shares-concerns-vocal-damage-cursing/” title=”Next: Dave Mustaine Shares Concerns Over Vocal Damage + Cursing” align=”center”]

Sony Holy Slayer , we’ve got yet another mainstream commercial using metal music to sell their product. This time, Google has used the Slayer anthem ‘Raining Blood’ for a Halloween-themed commercial for the company’s new Chromebook. The commercial is mostly text-based, and reads, “For little devils, for scaring off viruses, for spooky-fast startup, for an undead battery, for horror movie marathons, for no fear of crashes, for no phantom files, for no software nightmares, for a fun size, for no haunting hassles; the $249 laptop from Google for everyone.” This is the second time in a short while where Slayer has been used in a commercial. In September, ESPN used the band’s logo for comedic contrast for an ad featuring the seemingly nerdy SportsCenter commentator John Clayton, who wears a Slayer shirt while showcasing a ‘Reign in Blood’ poster in his “bedroom.” Still, the reigning champion of heavy metal commercials is the History Channel , when they used Suffocation ‘s ‘Bind Torture Kill’ to promote their ‘Dark Ages’ programming. What do you think of the use of Slayer’s music for a Google commercial? Is it funny? Does it work well? Is it a sellout move? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below. Slayer, ‘Raining Blood’ Google Chromebook Commercial [button href=”http://loudwire.com/slayer-disciple-top-21st-century-metal-songs/” title=”Slayer – Top 21st Century Metal Songs” align=”center”]

Mary Oullette, SheWillShootYou.com / Kevin Winter, Getty Images Mark Tremonti raised a few eyebrows in the Van Halen camp when he recently commented that he’d like to make Wolfgang Van Halen ‘s addition to his self-titled band a permanent thing. But the guitarist says that VH fans shouldn’t worry about this signaling Wolfgang’s exit, as he plans to work around the Van Halen commitments. Tremonti tells Metal Express Radio (excerpted by Van Halen News Desk ), “We’re talking about doing this arrangement for good. Van Halen will always be his priority, whenever they are touring. When he’s not touring, he’ll be with us. He will write and play on the records and, if he is on tour with Van Halen, we will find somebody that he is comfortable with filling his shoes.” Tremonti recently revealed that the younger Van Halen was part of their initial thought process for their current release, but he was otherwise occupied at the time when they started recording their record. With Van Halen off the road and with Tremonti’s Creed and Alter Bridge bassist Brian Marshall bowing out just prior to their tour, Wolfgang became a last-minute addition to the band’s lineup. The group just finished their European tour , with no further dates on the itinerary at present. Meanwhile, Van Halen remain off the road as well while guitarist Eddie Van Halen recovers from the surgery he had to deal with diverticulitis earlier this year. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/mark-tremonti-video-new-single-so-youre-afraid/” title=”Next: Watch Tremonti’s ‘So You’re Afraid’ Video ” align=”center”]

Octane California rap-rockers Hollywood Undead are set to release their third album, ‘Notes from the Underground,’ in January, 2013, and they’ve just unleashed the disc’s lead single, ‘We Are.’ Hollywood Undead have released a lyric video (watch below) for ‘We Are,’ along with the song being available for download on iTunes . The fan reaction thus far has been incredibly positive to ‘We Are,’ which hones the band’s trademark radio rock sound with hip-hop influence. Vocalist Johnny 3 Tears explains, “The song is about collective resistance. It’s the silent majority, but we’re using Los Angeles as the backdrop. Every time we work with Danny, he takes our music to the next level. He’s willing to go as far outside the box as we are. As a whole, it’s a good introduction to ‘Notes From The Underground’ because it encompasses the band idealistically. Think of it as an ode to our misled youth.” He continues, ”We’ve maintained an underground identity. When we write songs, we’re coming from a place people don’t like to look at or talk about openly. As people get older, they get used to lying. We have a bond with so many kids because they have a trace of that honesty. They don’t know how bad some things get yet. We tell them the truth.” A few members of Hollywood Undead are currently wrapped up in a legal battle against former member Deuce , who is suing them for alleged assault and battery. “You know when six guys come up and go after you, when you’re drunk – I don’t really see that as a tough lose,” Deuce tells Loudwire. “If they want to grab one person and I grab one person, I’m a small dude I weigh 140 pounds, if they want to go one on one fine – not six guys jumpin’ you out of nowhere. I don’t know what kind of move that is.” Check out Hollywood Undead’s new track ‘We Are’ in the player below. Watch Hollywood Undead’s ‘We Are’ Lyric Video